President Donald Trump
confirmed Thursday that the US had killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula -- days after the jihadist group claimed responsibility for a mass
shooting at a US naval base.
Qassim al-Rimi |
The US "conducted a
counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qassim
al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP)," Trump said in a White House statement.
AQAP claimed responsibility on
Sunday for a December 6 shooting at US Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida,
in which a Saudi Air Force officer killed three American sailors.
Washington considers AQAP to
be the worldwide jihadist network's most dangerous branch.
The Sunni extremist group has
thrived in the chaos of years of civil war between Yemen‘s Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels who control
the capital.
"Under Rimi, AQAP
committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to
conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our
forces," Trump said.
"His death further
degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to
eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security."
Trump did not give any details
about the circumstances or the timing of the operation.
In the Pensacola attack, eight
people were wounded, including two responding sheriff's deputies, before police
shot dead the assailant.
The FBI formally identified
the attacker as Mohammed Alshamrani,
21, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force who was training in the
US.
The SITE monitoring group said
he had posted a short manifesto on Twitter prior to the attack that read:
"I'm against evil, and America as a whole has turned into a nation of
evil."
"I hate you because every
day you (are) supporting, funding and committing crimes not only against
Muslims but also humanity."
The Twitter account that
posted the manifesto also condemned US support for Israel and included a quote
from Al-Qaeda's deceased leader
Osama bin Laden.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman was quick to denounce the
shooting as a "heinous crime" and said the gunman "does not
represent the Saudi people."
Around 850 Saudis are among
the 5,000 foreign military personnel being trained in the United States. – AFP
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